Development and validation of a food frequency questionnaire for dietary intake assessment among multi-ethnic primary school-aged children

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>This study aimed to develop and validate a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess habitual diets of multi-ethnic Malaysian children aged 7-12 years.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 236 primary school children participated in the development of the FFQ and 209 subjects participated in the validation study, with a subsample of 30 subjects participating in the reproducibility study. The FFQ, consisting of 94 food items from 12 food groups, was compared with a three-day dietary record (3DR) as the reference method. The reproducibility of the FFQ was assessed through repeat administration (FFQ2), seven days after the first administration (FFQ1).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results of the validation study demonstrated good acceptance of the FFQ. Mean intake of macronutrients in FFQ1 and 3DR correlated well, although the FFQ intake data tended to be higher. Cross-classification of nutrient intake between the two methods showed that < 7% of subjects were grossly misclassified. Moderate correlations noted between the two methods ranged from r = 0.310 (p < 0.001) for fat to r = 0.497 (p < 0.001) for energy. The reproducibility of the FFQ, as assessed by Cronbach's alpha, ranged from 0.61 (protein) to 0.70 (energy, carbohydrates and fat). Spearman's correlations between FFQ1 and FFQ2 ranged from rho = 0.333 (p = 0.072) for protein to rho = 0.479 (p < 0.01) for fat.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These findings indicate that the FFQ is valid and reliable for measuring the average intake of energy and macronutrients in a population of multi-ethnic children aged 7-12 years in Malaysia.</p>

A Study on Application of Food Photographs for Estimating Individuals' Dietary Intake / 대한지역사회영양학회지

This study was performed to investigate the validity of food photographs for estimating individuals' dietary intakes and compare it with other dietary assessment methods. Subjects were 7 professors, 2 researchers, 12 dietitian and 16 graduate students majoring in food and nutrition. Among the subjects, 20 subjects had research experiences in the dietary intake survey more than one year while 17 had not. Each subject estimated 50 food portions displayed in computer monitor by comparing with standard food photographs, which were weighed portions of 28 foods from typical Korean diet. No significant differences between the estimated value and the weighed value of 17 (34%) food portions were shown in research-experienced group and those of 14 (28%) food portions were shown in no-researchexperienced group. 24-hour recall was the most frequently-used method for dietary assessment followed by in the order of food frequency questionnaire, dietary record, diet history and weighing method. After estimating food portions by photographs, 30 subjects (81%) were willing to use the method for dietary assessment because of its convenience and easy communication between researcher and subject. This study suggests that digital photography method would be a useful and convenient new instrument for estimating individuals' dietary intake. However, it is necessary to create standard database for food portions and carry out systematic education for food estimation in order to apply this method in the fields.

A Study on the Development of Method for Measuring Nutrient Intakes at the Worksite

In Korea, the practice of nutrition education program at the worksite has not yet been implemented, especially for the workers who are at risk for health. Accordingly, the worksite nutrition program, education, and nutrition counseling are necessary. In this study, the worksite nutrition program was developed from June, 1997 to May, 1998. For this program, we surveyed the workers' age and the levels of education, income and physical activity. We developed the proper dietary intake questionnaire to evaluate the employees' nutritional status and the nutrition index which is a simple tool to assess nutrient intakes of the employees at the worksites. To demonstrate the validity of the developed nutritional assessment tools, the CAN(Computer Aided Nutritional) program and Hyunmin system developed by the Korean Nutrition Society and the Korean Dietetic Association respectively, were used as references. The result of the validity test for the dietary assessment method that we have been developed revealed that the method was valid showing no significant difference among the various methods. However, the carbohydrate intake measured by the CAN program was higher than those of others. The validity test results for the nutrient index method showed that there was no significant difference among the methods, except the carbohydrate intake measured by the Hyunmin system was lower that those of others. As a result, we concluded that the dietary assessment methods that we had been developed, were valid method to measure the nutrient intakes of the employees at the worksites.